Soccer
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: A series of what can go on with soccer that can lead to that puppy-dog love of Belena.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Progressive Belena fic. Not sure how long it'll be and excuse my lack of knowledge in the soccer area of sports. Basketball and I know everything, but I can't do soccer… No foot-eye coordination here… Set somewhere between Alien Force and the original series.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Ben 10. Stop asking.**

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><p>"I want to be on the team."<p>

He couldn't help but stare. A girl. On the soccer team. And she was standing up to the coach and staring him right in the eyes, those fierce, ever-angry eyes, and expected him to back down. She had a big navy blue soccer ball under one arm and one hip jutting out to the side, attitude radiating off of her like heat from the sun.

Suddenly, Ben found someone to admire, someone to respect. Someone who he could learn a thing or two from.

"No."

Her brows knit together as she stared up at him harder, eyes squinting a bit. Part of her lips curled up in a snarky snarl. "That's sexist."

"You're a girl." Coach Stanston stared at her with a glare of growing hatred. "I can be sexist all I want."

Suddenly, Ben was standing up. "She can be on the team." His voice wasn't strong or powerful or anything, but he thought that maybe the coach would listen to him. He'd been on the team as one of the worst players out of twenty-four for two years. Maybe his little bit of seniority gave him power. Maybe.

"Quiet, Tennyson."

Ben shut up real quick. He knew he was expendable. Too many wrong moves and he'd get cut faster than he could turn into Diamondhead. If he'd had the Omnitrix on, that is.

Stanston's furious gaze found the girl once more after his little snap at Ben. "You can't be on this team, period, end of story, final answer." Beet red didn't even describe his face. He wasn't used to being questioned, let alone by girls. There was a reason he was a soccer coach; it was a mainly male-dominated sport. "We have tryouts here, little miss. I have to ask you to move along now." He'd only forced his voice to be nice and for his words to be tamed. If he'd had it his way, he'd have used her for target practice with the team.

Sneering and scowling, dark eyes glaring and flaring with rage, the girl stalked off, soccer ball being dribbled down the field after dropping it into the dew-covered grass. She disappeared in a heartbeat, her fast pace and anger-driven adrenaline pushing her out of sight.

That was the first time Ben had ever truly noticed Elena Validus.

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><p><strong>AN: A bit of a prologue more than anything. But I liked it. So, review?**

**~Sky**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: For some reason, I love this. Belena!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Ben 10…**

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><p>"Hey."<p>

She looked up at him from making her straw dance in the blueberry slush that resided in that smiling cup. One of her brows raised questioningly as she asked, "And who do you think you are?"

"A guy who wants to help." He tossed his goalie gloves on the table as if that alone could state his intentions.

His jade eyes watched as her face changed before him. Slow scanning of his face and body. Then a fleeting glance at the gloves. And then she tapped the table twice with one finger, quick to get to the point. It was only in her nature to be precise about things. "I'll bite."

He couldn't help but grin a goofy little grin before settling himself down on the bench on the opposite side of the metal picnic table that sat outside Mr. Smoothy. It was the first time the kid had ever seen the place. It was like foreign territory to him, a place that only the big kids could play at with their fancy cars and wads of cash. "I want to help you get on the soccer team."

Elena blinked slowly and took a long sip of her smoothie, seeming to mull over this for a moment. And the tiniest grin took over half of her lips, her eyes closing again as a slurping sound erupted from the cup. Then she pulled the straw from her lips. "And what's in it for you?" She wasn't stupid; there was a catch. There was always a catch.

Ben tilted his head to one side before rolling it a bit from shoulder to shoulder. How come he felt so awkward? "I was hoping you could teach me to play soccer better." He fingered the fabric of the gloves. It was soft against his skin.

She snorted a quick laugh before looking down, a smile still planted on her face. Then the girl's gaze returned and found him, her face suddenly serious. He almost wondered if she was bipolar or something. "So you're a lackey? A little fledgling, am I right? Omega? Subordinate?" She put her chin in one hand. "They look down on you just like they look down on me, right? That's why you want to help. Pity? Because you pity me for being prejudiced against?"

He wasn't sure how she suddenly knew everything about him, but he did know that he was a little creeped out. Now that he saw who she really was... well...

"Listen, pretty boy," she started, leaning in real close so that he could see even the tiniest flicker of her nearly black eyes as the looked him square in the face, "I don't like pity. I'm not some sort of sissy who'll back down from a fight just because I broke a nail. If you're thinking that right now, get it out of your head because that isn't me. I don't do pity."

He was definitely afraid of her now.

"But I also stand up for every girl who was every belittled in this world, got that?" She grabbed a big soccer bag from where it was under that metal picnic table and began to rise from where she sat. "Dawn. Soccer fields on the south side of Bellwood. Bring your bike 'cause I don't know what time we'll finish up. I'll make a man out of you if you can get me on that team."

Ben was definitely awestruck. Finally, someone who knew what they wanted and knew how to get it without wanting to break into some place and straight-up steal it. And he watched her as she walked away, her hips swaying and that bag banging against her side as she walked with purpose over towards her bike that stood in a rack along with about nine other bikes.

"Hey!" he called out, standing up and realizing he'd forgotten something.

She looked up, black eyes finding him immediately. It wasn't like his green jacket was hard to spot or anything. Part of it just screamed "I'm a walking target! Fire away!"

"What's your name?"

She smirked. "Elena." She pulled up the kickstand on her bike and slung her bag over one of the handlebars. One leg went over the bike and she settled onto the seat. A foot hit the pedal and she was gone in a flash, disappearing in a fashion that Ben would soon become familiar with.

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><p><strong>AN: I love this story. So it's review time. Leave one. And a forewarning, I'm not a soccer player. Fix my terminology if I ever get it wrong.**

**~Sky**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Keep in mind that Elena was never a very defined character. I portray her the way I see her: straightforward, demanding, strong-willed, and a little full of herself. That's what I interpreted from the movie and her one episode.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>"You're late."<p>

"How am I supposed to know when dawn is?" Ben tossed his helmet on the seat of his bike, not bothering to lock the dang thing up. It was too early for this. The boy was still trying to wake up on the ride over. He'd run into his mailbox before even getting on the sidewalk.

She pointed a finger to the sun that had already appeared on the horizon, a ball of golden flames. Her face gave him that "Duh" expression that he would soon become familiar with.

"Okay, okay," sighed Ben as he pulled his gloves out of his bag and tossed them on the ground beside him before snatching his cleats out and dropping to the ground whilst kicking off his ratty, tattered old sneakers. "What are we starting with?"

"You're a goalie," she stated with a glance at the gloves. Her voice ended with that being her whole statement. Three simple words. Elena wasn't sure how she'd missed that. Her eyes remained on the white that stood out against the green grass.

"Yeah." Ben pulled the laces tight, immediately losing a bit of circulation in his foot. He'd always been taught that was a good thing. "But I have to leave the goal sometimes. I want to be better at everything so that I can know what I'm doing." The brunette looped the laces through each other before moving onto the next shoe. "And it's not like you can't help me practice for goalie."

She nodded approvingly, mind still elsewhere. "Point noted."

It took a few more seconds until he was up on his feet, cleats tightly strapped on and gloves left in the grass. "What's first?" he asked, bouncing in a bit of excitement. He was eager to learn despite the time of day and how his limbs protested all movement.

His eyes were on her as she snapped back to reality. "One lap around the field. Another one with a soccer ball. Then back to me."

Ben, not wanting to question her methods, did as he was told, his first lap without the ball, the second with. He could feel his heart racing in his chest as he let his feet do all the work, arms pumping, eyes watching the girl who was already working on her own warm-up, shooting that navy ball of hers into the corners of the net that only the tallest and swiftest goalies could grab. He would listen and learn like a good student would.

"Finished," he said three minutes and twenty-five seconds later, his two laps done and not even a drop of sweat on his brow. A smile graced his face as he saw her turn around, a bit shocked that he was back so soon. To her, it was like no time had passed at all. "Now what?"

She mulled over this for a moment before responding, "Let's start with what you know, pretty boy. If you got done that fast, your dribbling's solid. You're small, so you've got the advantage of speed, I'm assuming. Not a powerful kicker, though. Is that why you spend most of your time in the net?" Ben nodded and she continued. "Alright, let's start with some nasty little spin moves." Her eyes narrowed almost deviously. "If you can elude an attacker, you'll be fast enough to get away. Then all you need to do is knock the pass off to a teammate and retreat to the goal."

It took Ben a second to compute all this. "Alright."

Elena took the next few minutes showing him what evasion tactics he could use. One where the ball could be used as a weapon in itself, one where a sidestep could take down even the biggest opponent, and a few others that he was too stunned to even listen to her instructions that she was naturally feeding to him as if teaching soccer were her profession.

Twenty minutes and four faceplants into dew-covered grass later, Ben was staring up into the face of his dictator, her features set in stone and her gaze hard as steel. "How did you learn to do this?" he asked her only to find that his voice was breathless and tired. The effort of just trying was taking a lot out of him.

"Practice for five hours a day in half hour intervals for twelve weeks."

He almost deadpanned right there. Almost. Instead, he hauled himself back off the ground to try it again. If she could do it, he could do it. It couldn't hurt to learn this stuff. And he'd get her on the team. His stomach clenched at the thought of standing up to the coach and vouching for the girl. The hatred in his eyes from yesterday... That was too raw to be natural. Ben tried the maneuver again, his mind set on getting this right. He would train and learn until he was good enough to beat any of those other players. His place would always be in a net, but he wanted to learn to prove that he could.

"Keep it up," she encouraged with that passive voice that he would soon grow accustomed to. Elena was watching his footwork with scrutinizing eyes. "You're not half bad, pretty boy."

"It's Ben."

She glanced at his face to see him doing the maneuver perfectly while they held eye contact. Her brown gaze could see the seriousness of his face and the willpower that filled his bright jade eyes.

"Ben," she confirmed quietly. And Elena went back to silently watching his feet, arms folded across her chest, mind elsewhere, heart set.

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><p><strong>AN: My soccer knowledge is… shameful. I play basketball. I know everything from a lay-up to jump shots to top of the key and I know that there's a goalie and a net for soccer. Sorry for my inability to properly use my feet. ^.^' Review?**

**~Sky**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'll be slower now that school's in session and golf practice every day. Once NCIS and such comes on, you might not see me at all…**

**Good news: I asked FF to add Elena to the list of characters along with Manny and Helen. Guess who's now on the list of characters ^.^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10.**

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><p>Another day dawning, literally, he rode up to the field to find her already shooting at the goal, every shot hitting the upper right corner, barely out of reach of even the best goalie. Ben pulled his gloves out of his bag, dropped them on the ground, and plopped himself on the dew-covered bench to pull on his banged-up cleats.<p>

He approached her after she'd given three more balls a good kick, each of them landing in that same upper right hand corner. "Morning."

"Take your laps, pretty boy." She began her jog to the goal to fetch the three balls as he went to the outside of the field to run his one lap without the ball and one lap with. He never slowed, never faltered. He ran while watching her put each of the balls right back in that corner of the goal.

Three minutes and twenty-two seconds later, he returned, ball under his arm. "What next?" he asked, only sounding a bit out of breath. A half a mile wasn't so bad every morning. He figured he could deal. And she was training him. No way was Ben going to complain.

"Get those." She pointed to the goal and the two balls that were nestled in the net's empty folds near the bottom of the back. "Kick 'em back here to me. We'll work on your goal-tending skills today." She flexed her shoulders and neck as she watched him race to the goal with distant eyes, the ball that was under his arm now dropped at her feet.

Two swift kicks (that landed a bit short) and a quick process of putting gloves on later, Elena was glaring at him. She'd watched soccer on tv her whole life. She'd seen all the tournaments, all the championships, and the FIFA World Cups a hundred times or so. He didn't look like a goalie. "Crouch more."

"You're not a goalie!" he called back from his position about twenty yards in front of her. His brow furrowed in confusion. She played on the actual field, not trapped in the net. Who did she think she was, the Goddess of Soccer? She didn't look like a goddess to him.

She gave a little shrug and took her shot without even calling out a warning.

He sprang for that upper right corner only to find his fingers falling a little short. It slammed into the net behind him with a _swoooosh!_ sound; he fell to the ground by a completely different noise: _THUD!_

Ben was quiet in his grumbling as he slowly got up and brushed all the wet grass off of his shirt and shorts. "Wh-"

_Swooooossshh!_Another ball slapped the net and another goal was scored. "You going to listen to me or not?" came her firm voice. Her brown eyes were glaring quietly. "Crouch." It wasn't a statement. It was an order.

Reluctantly, Ben did as he was told.

"Let's try this again." She took her shot, watching it soar into that corner and right into his hands as he reached for it, fingertips brushing it enough to block it although not enough for a good catch. Elena still got the satisfaction of watching him hit the ground. As he got up, she explained, "It gives you more spring. For the higher shots, you need to jump more. Bend the knees and it gives you the power to get there."

"Got it, got it." He brushed himself off again. He looked up in time just to watch a soccer ball fly at him. He cringed in time to let it only clip his shoulder, spinning enough to still get into the goal behind him. "What is wrong with you?" he hissed, watching her coming into the goal to retrieve the balls for more shots.

"You want a list or do you want to get better?" She snatched two up in her arms and kicked a third one back out to where she was taking her shots from, the fourth being dribbled back to the spot. "Let's keep this moving." She dropped the balls in her arms and turned back to face him. He was crouched more this time. A little smile touched her features. He was a fast learner.

Twenty shots later, he was lying on the ground and not wanting to get up. "I keep hitting the ground," he said as she came closer, footsteps squashing the green grass. "Why can't you make this easy?"

"Is the other team going to make it easy?" she countered, kicking him lightly in the ribs. "I think not. Chop chop." She clapped twice right by his ear, sending his head shooting up from the grass. "Come on, Ben, let's keep this moving. Two more laps. You've got to wake up again."

He took his two laps. Three minutes and thirty-four seconds later, he returned. "Back," he said, leaning forward, hands on his knees to keep his balance. The brunette boy looked up to his mentor to see her gaze distant and stuck on the net. "Hey. Elena."

Her head whipped to him. "Start doing those moves I showed you yesterday." Elena kicked him one of the three soccer balls that sat at her feet, the fourth in the net. "I'll be back in ten minutes."

Before he could even get a word in, he was watching her jog off towards her cherry red bike that was parked next to him. She jumped onto it and bolted off, feet pressing the pedals and the wheels spinning. So after watching her disappear around a corner and staring off for a moment in genuine curiosity, he looked at the ball and began the drills he'd showed her the day before, feet moving over the ball with a trick before he was racing forward with it ahead of him.

He didn't even notice when she came back. Fifteen minutes of drills and he'd only fallen on his face twice. He thought it was improvement. Maybe. It was only her voice that shook him out of his serious concentration.

"Here." He felt an elbow nudge his ribcage just before he was going to go through the maneuver again.

Ben's jade eyes looked up to find Elena standing beside him again, strong as stone once more, head back in the game. He watched her as she glanced at her hand, a cup held tightly in it. "Where'd you go?"

"Down the block." She offered him the cup and he took it, finding a smiley face on the side of it. "Got you a smoothie." She took a sip of her own, looking back at the three balls that still lay on the grass. "But I'm warning you now, it may become an addiction. Mushy fruit is like a drug for some people."

"My parents are vegetarians. They'll like this for me better than soda, I can tell you that much." He took the cup and trapped the soccer ball under his cleat. And Ben thought he saw a small smirk on her face.

Elena looked at the net and then back to her trainee. "Once you finish that, go run another lap."

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

He didn't argue.

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><p><strong>AN: There. My work of the night. Hope you enjoyed. Review please.**

**~Sky**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Just watching massive amounts of Animal Planet whilst writing. Shame on me.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own at all.**

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><p>He took his laps. (Three minutes and thirty-four seconds.) He stretched. He practiced the ball maneuver drills she'd shown him.<p>

Twenty minutes later, she showed up on her bike, bag slung over one shoulder and across her chest rather than hanging off the grimy handlebars of her bike. She pulled off her helmet, tossed it on the ground beside her bike, and pulled on her shin guards and snatched her three soccer balls out of the bag before looking up to find jade eyes watching her process intently. "Hey," he said with a perky smile and that tousled head of feathery brown hair.

"Take your laps." She had only looked at him for a second before kicking one of the three balls out into the center of the field from the sidelines. Elena didn't look up again until all three balls were near the center of the field and she'd noticed Ben hadn't moved.

"I already took my laps," he said, voice full of the smile that he wore. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his green soccer jacket, the number ten slapped over a black stripe on the left side of it. "I'm ready to get started."

One of her black brows rose. She took a moment, mulled over a single thought, and then said her command once more. "Take your laps."

Ben had quickly learned not to argue.

Three minutes and nineteen seconds later, he returned to get his drills for the day. More ball handling.

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><p>"Water break."<p>

He'd noticed her lack of focus sometimes. He couldn't help but notice it. She had a one-track mind, closed off to the whole world except for her own thoughts and ideas. Ben wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he was no fool either.

He had also picked up on how fast she got tired. Their morning sessions at the crack of dawn usually only lasted an hour or so because either Elena's patience gave out or because she was too tired to carry on. Ben had also noticed the number of water breaks she took and how little work she tried to do.

Ben watched her jog over to her own bag and produce an old reusable water bottle from it with some scratched off writing and faint print, the colors faded from years of use. He followed her, his own water in his own bag, left there as a personal choice, a test of faith.

"I told you to get water," she said, pulling the beaten bottle away from her lips for air and to criticize every move he made.

He reached down into his bag and pulled out his own bottle, one with the school's emblem on it and his number and name etched into the side with a paperclip after an hour's worth of work on the thing. He showed it to her, shaking the liquid contents; then he popped it open and took a long draught.

She said nothing, just went back to her own water as if nothing had happened. The world kept spinning, her mind elsewhere.

"Do you think we should get to know each other?" questioned Ben, plopping himself down on the wooden bench, hunched over but looking up at her with those jade eyes. "I mean, I have to get you on the team, right? I should at least know who I'm defending." Moreover, he just wanted to know who exactly he was dealing with. He only knew her first name and that she was a soccer-playing girl with the determination of a thousand men and nerves of steel.

She stared at the field instead of looking at him. "Straight B student, play soccer all year long, been to every camp known to man, my dad's a plumber, favorite color is red, I hate books, and I've lived in Bellwood my whole life." She took another drink of water. "What more do you need to know?" She slammed her hand on the top of the water bottle, the thing snapping shut nice and tight even after years of use. Reliable. Without another word, she tossed the water bottle into the bag and rolled her shoulders before heading back out onto the field, the expanse of green stretching out before her like a brand new day.

Ben's lips twisted to one side, confusion passing his features for a moment before he went quiet. The brunette touched the bench beside him to test the reality of the moment before sealing up his own bottle and tossing it into his own bag in the same fashion she had. Ben jogged back out onto the field.

He figured that maybe less questions would be better.

Elena barked out an order. "Get in the goal, pretty boy."

He listened.

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><p><strong>AN: These chapters are naturally short. It's the way I designed the story. Should update soon though, keep your hopes up and keep those reviews coming.**

**~Sky**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Stupid computer. Being annoying. It doesn't copy and paste everything I want it to, dang thing.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. Yet again.**

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><p>It took four minutes and three seconds for him to get done with his laps. Another four minutes and twenty to do the second set that Elena had ordered. He wasn't panting at the end of that, but he was certainly on the verge of it. "What's today?" he asked watching her spin one of the five soccer balls they used on her finger as if it were a basketball.<p>

She let her gaze find him and the ball fell from her fingertip into her waiting hands; it was then roughly shoved into the brunette boy's chest. "Reassurance." Her voice was fierce. "How do you plan on getting me on the team?"

Ben paused. He mulled this over, rolling a few ideas around through his head and soaking in certain ones like a sponge. "Show him that you can beat some of our players."

Her eyes narrowed. Darkness stared out at him, glowing with a twinge of anger. "Is that the best you can come up with?" she asked, teeth grinding together furiously. If she'd wasted her time on this, she knew she'd end up scathing mad.

"It'll work," he promised, "trust me." He held the soccer ball she'd shoved at him close to his chest. Ben's green eyes glowed with assurance. "I'll get you on the team. Just be ready for whenever I call you to come play."

She snorted. "What are you gonna do?"

He smirked devilishly, something he'd retained from his childhood. Evil schemes and devious plots had been all the rage back when he was ten. Thirteen and now more mature, he was using them for good. Mostly. "I've got a few things under my belt." He shot her a broad smile while shoving the ball back at her. "You'll have to wait and see."

Elena took it, albeit reluctantly. It wasn't reassurance she'd gotten; he'd only delivered an empty promise. She wasn't sure whether to buy into it or not, but she couldn't suspect everyone that came into her life. Ben wasn't half bad, after all. She'd even come to think of him as a friend, which was more than she could say about anyone else. The only person even remotely near that same status was her father, but their bond was by blood rather than common grounds.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Ben asked yet again, trying not to let his teacher not get too caught up in her thoughts. He knew how she could sometimes get lost in memories and daydreams. What they were about, he hadn't the slightest inkling.

"Let's get you back in the goal." She dropped the ball and trapped it under one foot. "We've got to work on your speed and reaction time."

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><p>After stretching out for about two minutes, Elena had shoved him towards the goal and started kicking balls at him to keep him on his toes. He ended up having to throw them all back to her before they could even start the training for the day.<p>

He watched in anticipation for her to deliver the first kick. When she did, she missed the ball, ending with him diving for the corner he figured it would've gone to. "What was that for?" he hissed through gritted teeth while pushing himself back up off the dew-covered grass.

"Testing you." She kicked it again, this time aiming right for where he would've been standing had he not dove for the fake.

He scrambled to his feet just fast enough to have the ball slam into the center of his chest, pain erupting from where he'd been struck. "Man down!" he cried out dramatically, a smile on his face as he fell to the ground. The ball was right by his head when he hit the grass.

"Man up." She kicked another ball. It hit him in the stomach, pain blooming there as if he'd just done a bellyflop into a pool. He curled his knees to his chest, trying to protect his vulnerable parts from another attack by the vicious girl.

After a few seconds, she did move in to check on him. She reached a hand down after collecting one of the soccer balls that were strewn around him like dead bodies. "Time to get back up, pretty boy." She reached a gloved hand down to him, almost a peace offering between them.

He took it, almost suspiciously, and allowed her to try and pull him up-

-which only resulted in him pulling her down on top of him. Fear found it's way into his eyes as her form tumbled down on top of him, a soccer ball pinned between their chests. His green eyes were wide and his breathing was sharp. Her reaction was the same, the only differences being her dark hair hanging in her face and the panic that was plastered across her face.

It took a few seconds but she rolled off of him, the girl falling to one side, the soccer ball falling to the other. A minute or so to catch their breath and Elena was on her feet, moving away while dribbling a soccer ball, hands in the pockets of her red leather jacket.

Before that moment, Ben had never noticed how pretty her eyes were.

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Short, but I was totally bummed out. I have a way that this is going and still keeping things canon, but this whole thing feels so repetitive…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

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><p>"Trapping is key."<p>

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows how to trap a soccer ball."

"Then do it."

He did. He put his cleat-covered foot over it and held it to the ground. His green eyes looked up from the ball to her to see a challenge in her eyes.

"Now do it without looking."

Ben's lips pursed, and he groaned. "You're such a pain sometimes." After two and a half weeks, he was pretty sure he was free to judge. But it was coming high-time to try and actually get her on the team; he didn't want to.

"Do it."

He pulled his foot off the ball and kept eye contact with her. And them he moved to cover the ball with his foot again-

-but it wasn't there.

"You play dirty!" He began to look around, scrambling to find the ball before she could get ahold of it only to find that she had it trapped. Something like a snarl rose on his lips.

"Again." She released it and maneuvered it near his foot again with her own. "And try to watch me. There's always a tip off to what your opponent's doing before they do it."

"The eyes." He'd gotten this lecture two days ago. When she nodded, he was almost pleased with himself. They'd focused on reading eyes for almost a whole fifteen minutes. He found that she was nearly impossible to read, but also realized that she knew practically everything about him when he hadn't even breathed a word. Green was apparently very easy. Brown, not so much.

"Again." She watched him intently, gaze flickering ever so slightly between his eyes to watch him before he made his move.

Ben was about to trap the ball when he saw something in her eyes, something ev-

He got a nice kick in the shin and was on the ground in about three seconds while Elena stood over him, the ball trapped under her foot. "Pay closer attention." She tsked lightly at him before kicking the ball under her foot and four others towards the center of the field. "Now get in the goal, Tennyson."

He knew he'd have a big bruise in the morning.

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><p>As a goalie, he was definitely progressing well. Three saves he usually wouldn't get fell into his hands like someone had just given the ball to him. "More!" he called out in a near breathless voice, tossing all five soccer balls back at her in the center of the field. They landed short, but she was willing to make the trek.<p>

She trapped the fifth ball under her foot. Her eyes scanned his body. "You need to do about five hundred push-ups."

His brows knit together. "What?" he called from his post. "Why?"

"You throw like a girl."

His eyes narrowed and a scowl was planted on his usually smiling countenance. "I'm pretty sure you're insulting yourself."

"No, you insult me. I throw like a guy."

Ben heaved a sigh of reluctance. Surrender lay in his emerald orbs. "Five hundred?" A mild squeak tainted his voice.

"Yeah." She kicked a ball at him. "And you know what else you need to do?" When he caught the ball and her patience ran out, she began to walk away, tossing a hand over her shoulder and letting a glare settle on her features. "You need to get me on the team."

Ben watched her go. A sickness sank in his stomach. She was pissed. A quarter of the season was over, and she wasn't on the team yet. But now he wanted to keep practicing. He didn't care about the early morning wake ups anymore. He just wanted to spend more time with her.

He swallowed hard all of a sudden. Did he... like her?

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Looked a lot longer when I was writing it…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own it. Man of Action does.**

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><p>"Coach, can I call a meeting? Just real quick?" He held one of the practice balls under his arm while making a T for timeout with his hands. Ben's eyes were intent on his instructor until the man nodded slightly and blew the whistle to call in the rest of the team.<p>

And the all came in just as Elena was making her way out from under the bleachers, bag slung over one shoulder, cleats on her feet, eyes set with determination. She was practically sauntering over to the team, a slight sneer on her lips. All of it made Ben's heart thud a little faster in his chest.

Before any of the others could cut in, he began. "We all remember Elena from try-outs, right?"

A few of his teammates, Cash and JT to name a few, spit on the ground, eyes pointing narrow looks in the direction of the only female within the group.

"She's insanely good at this. All of it." Ben just had to weave it right. "And she is why I'm better at soccer. She's been training me for weeks now, which is the only reason I've been saving more goals and getting out of the net more often to help out. She's practically a miracle worker."

Scowls rose to faces and more glares were tossed in Elena's direction. Someone in the back of the group spat again loudly.

"She can't be better than these boys," huffed the coach, his glowering stare stabbing disapproving daggers into Tennyson and tossing fierce irritation in the girl's direction. "They've been training for years, not to mention the things I've put them through in the past few weeks."

That was his key, the ticket in. His jade orbs lit up like stars in the night sky. Ben smirked while dropping the ball, trapping it under a cleated-foot, and folding his arms across his chest. "Try her."

Now it was a matter of pride. The trained, powerful, fast, intelligent boys against the naive, weak, defenseless, stupid female. "Boys!" he barked out, voice demanding and sharp. "Line up! Positions set for drill eighteen!" And he grabbed the whistle around his neck and put it to his lips only a half second before the sharp trill sounded and sweaty bodies began to move where they belonged on the grassy field.

"Kill 'em." Ben shot her a reassuring, hopeful smile while all she could offer was a nervous twitch of one side of her mouth. She could knock 'em dead no question, but Ben was heading for the goal. Beat him and make her training look useless or skip the goal and make her striking abilities look weak?

The coach was barking out orders again. "Take the ball, get past all my boys, and make the goal." And he dropped a soccer ball at her feet, which she immediately trapped under her cleat to keep it safe and waited for the whistle to blow as her cue to hightail it past all the losers and get to the boy in the goal.

The trill shriek sounded right in her ear and then she was off, mud getting kicked up behind her as she took off, immediately sidestepping the first three opponents that tried to snipe the ball from her. All it took was a good burst of speed and some fancy avoiding.

A few more got in her way. She would've gotten rough and thrown some elbows around to knock down the big bad boys but decided against it and kept moving, ducking under arms and letting the ball maneuver between legs before it was just the girl against the goalie.

Ben didn't even see the slightest bit alarmed.

And it came down to decision time. Risk her own reputation or his? Miss the goal or play to his weaknesses and score it? The internal debate only lasted a moment or two before her foot took the swing at the ball, aiming for a spot that she knew he couldn't get to very easily from his position-

It grazed his fingertips but slid on past and into the goal., the net swishing while the brunette boy's body slammed into the muddy ground.

A hush fell over the boys. Beaten by a girl. Any dignity they had left was squashed or sinking to the center of the earth, making heads hang and jaws drop.

"Our next practice is tomorrow," hissed the coach through gritted teeth, "but that doesn't mean you're getting treated like a girl."

"I didn't expect to." Her arms folded across her chest and her dark eyes watched him through slits; she'd been prepared to bring out government rulings if he hadn't cooperated, so she shoved those ideas into her pocket for later use if push came to shove.

Ben was just trying to get off the ground while wondering why Elena hadn't helped him out.

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Long time no update. Hello, Ben 10 Fandom…**

**Disclaimer: I hate not owning this.**

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><p>"Elena!"<p>

She kept walking, even putting her hands in her pockets to try and hide herself away. Elena didn't look up, kept walking forward, bag slung over her shoulder. Victorious, yet with no celebration surfacing.

"Elena!"

Why wouldn't he just shut up? Why couldn't he go away? She respected him for his drive and determination. Loyalty, too. Yet she couldn't bring herself to properly face him. Maybe it was because of-

"Elena, come on!"

Tuning people out? She'd gotten a little too good at it. Her father's psychotic rants indulged that adaptation. Ben? Ben was simple. It was the fact that she couldn't run away from him that became the only problem. With her dad, she could just leave the house. With Ben, home was the only safe place, granted he didn't follow me back.

"What did I do, Elena?"

Absolutely nothing. He'd held up his end of the bargain. He'd been patient and followed her every order. He was a good guy, and maybe that's what bothered her so much. Was she worthy of even being in his presence?

"Elena!" His footsteps finally pounded up behind her, sneakers on hard gray pavement. "Elena, seriously, stop walking!"

She broke into a run, bag slamming against her back with each step. It would definitely bruise, but she didn't care. She couldn't face him, not now, not after she'd let him down. But what other options were there? Could she really give in and let him look better than her? She couldn't give up her own position just to make him look better; he'd already secured a spot while she was fighting for her own place in the rankings. It still felt… _wrong_ to have to score on Ben with the intent of beating him. Especially after everything she'd done for him… She'd proven that he still wasn't good enough. It hurt her more than it should've.

Ben was running as well, cleats hanging from his wrist from intertwined laces, bag smacking his side, feet pounding against the sidewalk. "Elena! What's wrong?" Faster. He pushed himself to run faster as soon as he saw her try to bolt. "Elena!"

No. No, she didn't deserve to spend more time with him, to lead him on any longer. She had a separate life to live. Elena had already pulled him around enough, jerking his chain and tugging at his emotions. She didn't even belong on that team, but she'd do it just to make sure she got her prize. After weeks of work, she'd earned it, but it still felt wrong after betraying Ben-

He tackled her. Wrong sport, sure, but it was effective enough. Ben crashed into her back (well, into her bag, really) and pushed her to the ground, both of them falling into the concrete.

"Ben!" she shrieked, scrambling away from him, turning over, brows knit in anger and confusion. Elena tugged her bag over her shoulder again and held herself up with one hand pressed into the pavement. "What the-"

"Why are you running from me?" he asked, face begging for an answer, countenance screaming innocence. "What is wrong with you? Did I do something?"

No. No, he hadn't done anything. He'd been a perfect little angel, quiet and sweet, like a child wanting praise from their mother. Elena hid her face in her hands and watched him with dark, disappointed eyes. "Ben, just let me be, okay? I'll see you on the field, but our friendship off the field is done." She tried to get up and nearly stumbled into the sidewalk again. Her knees were already skinned and red. "It was an agreement, alright? I get on the team, you get training. It's done, over." She was already backing away, one hand shoved in her pocket, hair hanging in her face. "I'm sorry, Ben. It was just a deal."

And she ran, wishing to purge the sight of his heartbroken eyes from her mind.

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><p><strong>AN: A few more chapters, then this'll be finished. Review/comment please?**

**~Sky**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Oh look, another update.**

**Disclaimer: Still not owning.**

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><p>She was back at practice. She didn't look at him but merely focused on the task at hand. Or rather, at foot.<p>

Ben tried to offer a smile whenever she came up to the goal. The response: getting a ball kicked into his gut. He would curl over for a second, but as soon as possible, he would pull himself together and concentrate on catching the next one. He wouldn't give up just because she'd broken his heart. He was stronger than that. Especially after a whole summer of alien butt-kicking. Girls? _Please_.

Still, it hurt. Like Kai all over again, but more painful; the failure would glare at him every day until the season was over, and even then, he'd pass her in the halls or see her running in gym. It would sting until he no longer had to see the source of heartbreak.

Another soccer ball to the gut. He let out a grunt of pain before throwing it back with all his might to the next guy in line.

The guys. They'd sneer at her, treat her like trash, keep the ball from her. Cash and J.T. were easily two of the biggest offenders. They'd even break her water bottle or spill her bag all over the bench. Ben tried to stop them when Elena was on the field and couldn't stand up for herself, but they wouldn't answer to him. Elena would give them both a good kick where it hurt, retrieve whatever they'd taken, and settle back down like nothing had happened.

He blocked another shot and rolled it back to the next guy in line just as the whistle blew crisply. "Game time, boys!"

Ben hustled out of the goal, retrieving the last ball before heading in to the bench. Out of nowhere came another kick, and a ball slammed into the side of his head. He hit the ground like a bag of bricks, body heavy as lead.

"What the Hell?" snapped Elena from where she stood on the field near where the rest of the players were coming from. An unconscious Ben wouldn't see any of it, but she threw at least five punches and gave Cash a bloody nose and a good black bruise on his left cheek. "We've only got one goalie, moron! You don't knock him out!" He got a nice hard kick right between the legs; J.T. laughed, which only resulted in her stomping on his foot.

Come on, they were douche bags to her, and she could take a beating. Not like she hadn't taken hundreds before. Watching them tear down Ben, an innocent in the crossfire? No. She wouldn't take it. Elena, despite having terrible motives and a crooked halo, would not stand for injustice.

"Validus!"

"It was an intentional shot!" she fought back with aggressive words. Her eyes were desperate for defense while her two teammates rolled around in agony on the field like a couple of babies. "Everyone saw it!" Elena fought for the innocent.

No one else spoke up. A few of the team were huddled over Ben, trying to hoist his unconscious body to the bench, one guy trying to hold him upright, another attempting to wake him by throwing water on his face. Still, he remained limp and out cold.

"Validus, I need you in the goal." The coach wasted no time in snapping his fingers in an order for the guys to pull Ben's gear off and hand it over to the dark-haired girl. "You're capable enough, I'm sure. Make it happen out there." His evaluating eyes turned to the rest of the team, and he started barking out orders. "Everyone else, get moving! Cash, I want you in her spot for the remainder of the game, so get a move on! J.T., you're getting pulled off to take care of Tennyson. Let me know when he's awake."

She wasn't going to argue with orders. Elena would suck it up and take her new responsibility. Besides, she was a goalie once upon a time. She could do this.

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><p>Twenty-five stopped goals later, the first half was over and she was able to move to the sidelines for a few minutes to throw down some water and maybe a handful of trail mix before she knew she'd be needed out on the field again for more practice before the second half.<p>

"You're not too bad at that, you know."

His voice. She tried to block it out, tried to ignore how much it had to be hurting him, pushed down everything she felt, and put forth all the focus she had into the game. "Yeah," she breathed, pouring a little water on her hand and rubbing those fingers along her forehead. "I used to play goalie."

A thin smile spread across his face as he looked down at his cleats. "That's why you trained me so well."

"Yeah." She put a little water on the back of her neck in the same fashion. It was late September, but the heat was still blistering hot in Bellwood.

"Why didn't you come in here as a goalie?" he asked, clouded confusion painted across his boyish features. "Don't get me wrong, you're amazing on the field, but you're even better in the net."

She shrugged despite how obvious it was. Elena wouldn't take his place. She wouldn't steal his role. The girl was trained to do both should a situation arise, and she'd chosen to leave Ben's spot on the team alone and let him bask in the glory of being the sole goalkeeper.

"Validus," came the coach's voice as the crowd's cheers rose from the stands, "I need you back in the goal. Tennyson's got a concussion and you're the only one with enough brains to do it right."

The second part didn't really sink in like it should've. Some part of her caved, and her dark eyes looked to the brunette boy. "You alright?" she questioned, knowing she should've asked sooner. Really, she didn't even know he was conscious until he'd spoken to her on the sidelines like that.

"Fine," he replied, looking up to her with that goofy grin of his, innocent and adorable as ever. "Everything's a little blurry right now, and more than anything, I just can't walk." He rubbed his face and gave a sigh. "J.T. said I got hit in the head with a soccer ball…?"

Definitely concussed. "Has anyone called an ambulance for you or something?" she asked, kneeling down to actually look at him. Her hand went to where he was hit, and she could feel a bump the size of a golf ball. "You were unconscious more than a minute, right?"

"Maybe?"

"Someone needs to get you to a hospital." She reached for her bag and began to pull out her phone when his hand went to her wrist, pushing it back into the bag. "Ben, really, if you can't walk after this long-"

"I'm not paralyzed or anything," he said, jade eyes serene and gentle. "My head's just a little too fuzzy to-"

"I'm calling you an ambulance." The girl didn't hesitate to pull her phone out this time and pace away a few steps so he couldn't fight her. She knew the signs of a serious concussion and wouldn't screw around with it. Head trauma was head trauma.

When she was dialing, back turned to him, he put his head down and smiled. Because she cared.

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><p><strong>AN: Review?**

**~Sky**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Alright, I'm thinking two chapters left?**

**Disclaimer: No. Just walk away.**

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><p>"Tennyson's out for the rest of the season. Validus, I need you in the goal from now on." Now he was almost happy she'd been added to the team.<p>

"He's _what?"_ she asked, completely dumbfounded. Her dark eyes were wide as she watched the coach saunter on past without even a second glance at her, probably tuning out her question just the same. The girl, even more shocked, saw Ben plop down on the bench like it was any other day. He even had his same goofy grin on.

"Hey, Elena!" he called with a wave.

As much as she desperately wanted to ignore him, she forced herself over to him, mostly to make sure he was alright. Strictly because he was her teammate, of course... "Coach just said you're out for the rest of the season, what the hell?" she asked, obviously irritated.

His smile didn't fade. "Serious concussion. I'm not even supposed to be here right now. I'm kind of on house arrest." His precious jade eyes kept level with hers. "But I talked my parents into letting me come to a few games. I just have to ice my head and not walk."

"That's insane."

"Team spirit." He stretched his arms out in front of him, cracking his knuckles. "I need to be here. It's only right, Elena. Stupid, sure, but it feels right."

Really, she would've dragged him back to his house if she knew where he lived and if she didn't have to be on the field in less than five minutes for the game. Elena scowled down at him. "You should go home."

"Team spirit," he reiterated, still grinning.

He was such an annoying little weasel...

"Validus!"

"Coming!" The girl snatched up her gloves and bolted for the net, not looking back at Ben.

And almost the entire game, she was worried about him. He was sitting there quietly whenever she happened to glance his way, and every time, she noticed he was watching her and only her. Probably scouting out his own moves in the goal if he were in, but she couldn't be sure. It felt like his green gaze constantly following her every move... Strangely enough, it didn't bother Elena.

"You're not doing too bad out there," he commented when she collapsed onto the bench beside him and took the proffered water. "You've only missed one goal compared to their goalie's three, so that's pretty good in my book."

"If you miss one, you miss them all," she commented, mopping sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her uniform. "All of my practice and training lead up to those moments, and I waste all of that time when I miss one." Elena bent down for a second, head basically between her knees. "I shouldn't miss any."

"You win some, you lose some," commented Ben just before she raced back to the field, leaving her water behind; it only reminded him that she wasn't there.

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><p><strong>AN: This one was really short only because I didn't have much to say. The next one should be really, really long. So review?**

**~Sky**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Another one. Look at that. Second to last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Nope.**

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><p>One day, she didn't show up.<p>

A playoff game, nearing the championship, and Elena Validus failed to show up. She hadn't even called the coach to let him know. She was just gone, like she'd vanished off the face of the earth.

Ben, sitting on the bench for moral support, found it increasingly strange as the game wore on. Cash was playing in the net, and as much as he liked watching his foe get hit by a soccer ball every few seconds, he missed seeing Elena's sleek form diving for the black and white sphere. His brows knit together in confusion, trying to work out this puzzle.

If she hadn't called in, it could've just been because she didn't have anyone's number. Then again, she'd been given paperwork the first day on the team that would most definitely have had the coach's number on it if nothing else. Loyalty would've made her call in, and Ben firmly believed that she would've come even if she were ill.

In some dark corner of his mind, he knew something was wrong.

Ben waited through the entire game and handed out water to his teammates when they substituted in and out. He offered smiles and encouragement, but the pit of his stomach was screaming for him to get out of there and check on her. Instead, he forced himself through the game, twitching with impatience, anxiety in every bone.

Finally, when the game did end, he was the first one out of there; Ben jumped on his bike and headed towards the nearest payphone, intending on calling the operator to ask for the dark-haired girl's address. He needed to check on her. Desperately. Somehow, he felt like his sanity was withering away every second he wasn't on his way to finding her.

"Validus," he told the kind lady on the other end of the phone. His bike was somewhat in the booth with him, making him look like an awkward child. "I need the address for someone by the name of Validus." When she asked for him to spell it out, Ben did, and then he waited for her to give him a set of digits and a street name.

"I'm sorry, but no one in Bellwood has that last name," responded the woman, Carol, gently. "Would you like me to check outside the city boundaries?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, words a little breathy. Ben fidgeted as he waited. What? Now she didn't live here?

"No one, I'm sorry." Carol was patient as he sighed heavily, obviously distraught. "Is there a first name I can use, by any chance?"

"Elena." He spelled that out as well.

"There is one Elena in town, but the last name doesn't match up to the one you gave me."

"That's fine," Ben answered and listened carefully as Carol gave him a set of numbers, which be avidly wrote down before taking the street name as well. "Thank you," he added after Carol had finished, and then Ben hung up, hope still lingering in his heart. Maybe he'd find her yet.

He knew the street. It was the bad side of town, drug dealers running amuck, danger lurking around each corner, and guns hanging on every hip. That side of town terrified most kids at his school, and the students who came from there were daunting themselves, but Ben figured if Elena could handle it, so could he. Besides, taking on aliens for an entire summer had pretty much given him nerves of steel.

The pedals of his bike couldn't go 'round fast enough. His helmet had been sloppily plopped on his head, buckle flying around and slapping at his chin and neck. Ben's feet worked furiously to get him where he was going.

When he turned a certain corner, the road suddenly got choppy. The houses didn't immediately melt into slums, but soon enough, smaller houses and trashy yards melted into broken buildings with shattered windows and smashed doors. Ben knew he was closing in on her, and he began to watch the numbers on the buildings, waiting for the right one to come around so he could play the knight in shining armor to his precious Cinderella.

Okay, maybe he was just a little bit in love with her. But only a little bit.

Once at the right address, he tossed his bike down at the curb and bolted for the front door. Two of the front windows were blown out, and a massive white van sat in the gravel-coated driveway. The front door was half torn away, resting on a lonely hinge that was rusty enough to convince Ben that it had never been oiled or replaced. So he pushed his way inside, not bothering to knock.

That was when the buzzing in his head started. Stupid concussion. It was loud and obnoxious, drowning out almost all other sound.

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><p><strong>AN: Review please.**

**~Sky**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Final chapter, then the epilogue. Thanks for reading throughout, you guys. It's been a fun ride.**

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><p>He pushed his way inside the house, breaking any and all rules that may have been sanctioned. Ben didn't care. It hardly even occurred to him. All he knew was that she was in danger.<p>

The buzzing grew louder, like thousands of mosquitoes had congregated nearby. Ben blamed his concussion and carried on, a faint headache blooming in the back of his skull. He knew he should sit down and ride it out, but not when she was in jeopardy. Her life came before his health.

The door swung open on creaky hinges, not even completely closed. He noted it in the back of his mind and then looked around the dingy place. Beakers and flasks covered counters. Tables were laid out with blueprints and small tools. Scrap metal lay on the floor in overwhelming heaps and tiny piles of shavings. It looked like some cross between a laboratory and a workshop. The floors, or what little could be seen of them, were scratched to hell, some places even looking like clawmarks.

From doorway to doorway, he pushed open unlocked doors and peered inside. Only one room looked normal, or at least as close to normal as it could get compared to the main living areas. A small room had a mattress laid out on the floor and a few blankets neatly laid across the top, a flattened pillow at the top. Beside it, on the floor, sat a lamp and a stack of books. Even a pair of thick-framed glasses resided there.

Her bedroom. He knew it. Instinctively.

A low whine caught his attention. It was barely more than a whimper and much softer than a cry. Ben turned on his heels, tracing the sound with the keen senses he'd built up in that one summer with the roadtrip...

He tracked it to another door, one he had yet to open. Ben turned the knob and pulled it open. The buzzing in his head instantly grew louder, but he blamed the sound of the squeaking that the unoiled hinges made. The pitch had probably bothered his headache, which had also worsened in that same moment.

Stairs lead down into the basement, a dark mouth into the belly of a beast. Ben took his chances, testing the first weak step before thundering down the rest as fast as he could, desperate to find her. She had to be here. It had sounded like her. Elena.

Rounding the corner to escape the corridor created by the stairs, he found a faint light glimmering on the other side of the room. The glow of her body, shimmering orange and black, tinges of silver here and there, like metal. Her face was buried in her knees, arms hugging her legs tightly to her body.

"Elena?"

The orange flared up around her, the silver shining brighter, the blackness swirling like a tornado. Her form fizzled, becoming blurry, then clearer. "Ben, you need to leave," she pleaded, voice borderline sobbing.

"Elena, what's wrong?" he asked, recognizing the tone of her broken words. "Why weren't you at the game? We got slaughtered!" He blamed her blurred form on his concussion. The color tinges were just the lights playing with his eyes. (He realized a long time afterwards that there was no other light source in the room, only her. It was not his eyes.)

"Ben, you need to go." Her eyes glistened with tears; they looked like metallic diamond on her orange-shaded face. "You can't be here."

"Whatever's going on, I can help you." He moved in closer, and she flinched. Still, he would not retreat. "Just come with me, we'll get you out of the basement..." He reached out with one cautious hand and offered his sweetest smile.

Her eyes widened in horror as her body extended another extremity of black metal and began to swallow up his proffered hand. "Ben!" she shrieked, fighting against The Swarm as it tried to steal him as another human body...

The black extremity retreated, being sucked back into her body.

Hallucinating. Now he was hallucinating. Stupid concussion. Now was not the time for the head trauma to bother him. Ben looked at his hand, turning it over repeatedly and looking for injuries; there were none.

"Leave," she ordered, "and never come back, Ben." Her voice was hard as steel, teeth gritted together as she swallowed hard and continued her internal battle, her struggle for stability. "I mean it."

"Elena-" he began, the heartbreak obvious in his eyes. Orders were orders, especially coming out of her mouth. He had been trained to obey, and failing to listen now would be sacrilege.

"Go!" she urged, gasping as she took another bad blow. The Swarm was winning. Her eyes glared up at him, orange blazing with rage. They were no longer the same threatening shade of black as they'd been before, he realized later.

He ran. He would never disobey and order. Ben ran as fast as he could, leaving her to battle inner demons and unbelievable power, power that even Elena knew she would never be able to conquer.

Biking home, helmet straps slapping his chin, he realized the buzzing had gone quiet

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><p><strong>AN: Just drop a review, thanks (:**

**~Sky**


	14. Epilogue

**A/N: Epilogue.**

**Disclaimer: None.**

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><p>There was once a girl. Her name was Elena Validus.<p>

There was once a boy. His name was Ben Tennyson.

Elena taught Ben many things. Respect. Control. Power.

Ben learned much from Elena. Strength. Patience. Will.

One day, Elena disappeared.

Ben scoured the city searching for her. He even searched most of the nation. Still, Elena was nowhere to be found. She had vanished overnight.

Now, he cannot play soccer without thinking about her.

Ben loved Elena.

And even though she never said it, Elena loved Ben, too.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you, everyone, for seeing this story through. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**~Sky**


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